North Bay Business Journal

Welcome to the North Bay Business Journal’s 10th-annual Women in Business: Leaders, Innovators, Visionaries.

This, of course is a special year for these awards, which have now honored 89 exceptional women business leaders since 2001. The honorees and past winners were celebrated Thursday at a gala awards reception and dinner. The evening was emceed by Marcy Smothers of www.foodwineandmarcy.com and owner of Smothers Winery and Remick Ridge Vineyards. And a panel of past winners talked about leadership, successes and challenges.

This year’s winners are fitting for a 10th anniversary — 10 notable women selected from nearly 60 nominees. [Read about the 10-year history of the Business Journal's Women in Business awards.]

Listen to a recording of the panel discussion from the awards gala.

We selected these 10 from a range of industries, including from nonprofits for the third consecutive year. The nominations include those submitted by our readers, previous honorees and our editorial department.

The achievements and contributions of the nominees made the selection process difficult. Undoubtedly, many of this year’s nominees will be named winners in the future.

Winners were chosen based on many factors, including leadership roles in the organization, business-related innovations, vision and community involvement.

Congratulations to this year’s winners for their accomplishments.

—Brad Bollinger, Editor in Chief, Associate Publisher

2010 winners

Hospitality & Tourism

Catherine Bartolomei-Smith is co-proprietor of Farmhouse Inn and Restaurant in Forestville, a community in western Sonoma County wine country. [ video slideshow of her advice for other businesswomen ]

Construction

Carole Bionda is vice president and general counsel of Nova Group, a general engineering contractor based in Napa. [ video slideshow of her advice for other businesswomen ]

Professional Services

Rachel Dollar is a nationally recognized attorney and founding partner of law firm Smith Dollar PC in Santa Rosa. [ video slideshow of her advice for other businesswomen ]

Nonprofit

Denise Frey is executive director and chief executive officer of Santa Rosa-based YWCA of Sonoma County. [ video slideshow of her advice for other businesswomen ]

Entrepreneurship

Brenda Gilchrist is principal of The HR Matrix human resources consultancy based in Santa Rosa. [ video slideshow of her advice for other businesswomen ]

Health Care

Elaine John is president and chief executive officer of St. Helena Hospital Foundation, which raises money to fund programs and projects connected to the Adventist Health medical center near St. Helena. [ video slideshow of her advice for other businesswomen ]

Financial Services

Linda Kachiu is director of CPA firm Zainer Rinehart Clarke in Santa Rosa. [ video slideshow of her advice for other businesswomen ]

Wine

Kathryn Lindstrom is general manager and chief financial officer of J Vineyards & Winery, a maker of sparkling and table wine in Sonoma County’s Russian River Valley winegrowing region. [ video slideshow of her advice for other businesswomen ]

Human Resources

Debra Miller is vice president of human resources for St. Joseph Health System in Sonoma County. [ video slideshow of her advice for other businesswomen ]

Economic Development

Cynthia Murray is president and chief executive officer of North Bay Leadership Council, a public policy group in the north San Francisco Bay area in California. [ video slideshow of her advice for other businesswomen ]